Wednesday, September 12, 2012

A New Life

After Monday's rather meek post, I was thinking that Alex/Max would be hiding in my house forever.Yesterday changed that. I had the day off and it was a beautiful day. We spent a lot of time outside, sitting on the driveway, laying on the driveway and just being. Alex/Max really started to come around. Alex/Max. Now, the way I see it, Max was the name he had in his old life, you know living in the cold miserable shelter. He's here at The Lodge and needs a new name to go with his new life.Yesterday was September 11. The anniversary of the atrocity that rocked our nation eleven years ago. As I was out and about, I saw all the flags at half staff , I started thinking about all the police and firefighters who lost their lives just doing their jobs. I started thinking about actors who played these dedicated people. A stray thought popped into my head from the movie, Lethal Weapon. Do you remember the scene where Danny Glover's character is ah... um... on the toi toi and there is a bomb underneath?One thing led to another and pretty soon I was thinking that Riggs was a pretty good name for our new puppy. So, Rigg's it is. Rigg's went to Watertown with me and the pack yesterday and today we went to the dog park.Yes, that's right, the dog park.

He was a little apprehensive about getting in the car. But he's a good rider. At the dog park, I had to carry him in and untangle him from the 15' lead that ties him to me in the event of a wild hair. It took some coaxing and cajoling and the help of a new friend named Percy, a Jack Russell/Basenji Mix but he did it.When he realized what was happening, he started to run. At first he ran to keep up with me and then he ran to see what Lucky-Jimmy was doing and then back to me. Then he decided it would be great fun to run between my feet. No, I didnt fall but did some crazy dance steps to prevent from stepping on his leash.Enough of this.I took off the leash and wrapped it up. The rest, as they say my friends, is history. I'm sure that Alex/Riggs hasnt run like that in for a week or so. He was at a foster home in AL but she had to board him for a week before transport. Then the transport to WI and the last few days he's been hanging around in my bathroom. Right next to the toilet ... starting to see where the name Rigg's came from yet?We did three laps and he ran and ran and ran the whole time. He also wagged and smiled and wiggled and all things dog. Today he took his first steps in becoming a real dog. He also looks up to Lucky-Jimmy like a big brother. Wherever Lucky-Jimmy went, Alex-Riggs went too. Its always easier to be braver with a friend out front. I've seen this transformation a few times but it never ceases to amaze me. To see this scared little creature blossom and run and become a dog is one of the greatest pleasures I get from fostering. To see it from the eyes of someone else who has never seen it is even better. I was walking with the man who just adopted Percy a month or so ago. To hear it in his voice when he saw Alex-Riggs running and playing like a dog should was the icing on the cake. The whole time we were at the park of the dogs (for Kris :D ), every now and then Alex-Riggs would stop and shake for all he was worth. When we got back in the car, he did it some more. I just checked on him and he's out of his bathroom and laying in the back hallway and now he's back there shaking again. Nope, he's not scared. He's shaking off his old life. There ya go buddy. It's all gonna be ok.Alex-Riggs came home from the park and planted himself back in his bathroom. Then, wondering where all his playmates were, came out looking for them all. He found us, wandered back through the kitchen and laid back down in the hall. Perhaps he'll sleep off his run.That's our story for today. Thanks again to Alex-Riggs foster mom in AL for starting him out and sending him up to us. Thank you to everyone who is interested in adopting him. He's not going to be an instant dog if that's what you're looking for; at least not yet. He may not even be a first timers dog. Thank you for Thinking Rescue! Thank You for Reading!!

About Me

From the time she was a little girl, Michelle Grade loved dogs; sometimes more than people. Dog people will understand. At one point in her educational career, she wanted to be a veterinarian but discovered she didn't want to sit still that long.
She became a wife, a mother, an employee at a job she thought wasn't half bad, she was a Sunday School teacher but something was still missing in her life. Enter, fostering stray dogs. Her house is always a wreck and there are always piles of clean and dirty laundry to manage but fostering filled that hole. These days it seems strange if the only dogs are the two resident dogs at The Lodge.
Through fostering she's made the most amazing friends, not only the wonderful people that adopt our fosters but also the other volunteers that work to bring them safely to their furever homes.
Thank you for thinking rescue. Thank you for reading.